


Letting Go is Hard

by barefootxo



Series: May God Have Mercy [2]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Soap (TV)
Genre: Gen, Spiritual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-11-16
Packaged: 2018-05-02 00:24:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5226842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barefootxo/pseuds/barefootxo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Distraught at Angel's leaving her, Buffy seeks counsel from her local priest, Father Timothy Flotsky. X-over with Soap.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Letting Go is Hard

I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Soap. They belong to Joss Whedon and Susan Harris respectively.  
  
~~  
  
 ** _Letting Go is Hard_**  
  
  
Father Timothy Flotsky sighed as he heard the sound of a woman sobbing in his church. He hated that. Even a decade after leaving Corinne and he still couldn’t deal with a crying woman. Tim stood there a moment and steeled himself. The girl was quite obviously in despair and the fact that she was in his church suggested she was one of his flock. He couldn’t abandon her in her hour of need, no matter how uncomfortable the sound of her crying made him. “What troubles you, my child?”  
  
As the blonde girl raised her face, Tim recognised her. This was Buffy Summers, one of Joyce Summers’ daughters. She’d been known to slip in during late services before. “It’s nothing, Father. I can leave…”  
  
Tim shook his head determinedly. Now that he was involved he would see this through. “Nothing rarely induces such sorrow, my child. Tell me. I promise that it won’t leave this church. It may help to relieve your burden if nothing else.”  
  
The teary-eyed blonde nodded slightly, looking unsure. “My boyfriend is leaving me. He’s going to Los Angeles. He says we can’t be together any more.”  
  
Tim grimaced. Well if this wasn’t a familiar situation he didn’t know what was. He glanced up, silently asking God why this sort of thing always came his way. Tim mentally shrugged in response to his own question. It was probably better that he had experience in this sort of issue then for him to be faced with an issue for which he had no point of reference. “If I may ask, why is he leaving you?”  
  
Buffy stiffened in response. “Why do you ask?”  
  
Tim offered a benign smile in response to her question. “There are many reasons why a man might leave the woman he loves or loved. Some of these are selfish, some of them neutral and some of them are even selfless, though those are rare. How you should be feeling and reacting to one you care about leaving you varies drastically based on why they _are_ leaving you.”  
  
The blonde nodded thoughtfully, appearing to choose her words with great care. “I suppose that makes sense. Angel said that we couldn’t be together because we were bad together. He wants me to be with someone who can walk with me in the daylight… You see he has this skin condition…”  
  
“Yes, being a vampire rather leads to a nasty case of sun burn as I recall,” Tim replied sardonically. He wanted to cut out the lying as quickly as possible. “Angel has been known to attend my services, my child. I know him for who and what he is.”  
  
Buffy’s eyes widened. “You know what… and you allow him to attend services?”  
  
Tim shrugged faintly. “I have had my own unpleasant with the occult, Miss Summers. My son was briefly possessed by a demonic entity. So you see I can sympathise with Angel’s position better than most.”  
  
“You… you have a son? But I thought priests weren’t allowed to… well…”  
  
“Do the horizontal salsa?” Tim’s grin was tinged with sadness. “We’re not. I left the priesthood for the woman I loved and who loved me.”  
  
Buffy’s face displayed her confusion. “Then why are you a priest again?”  
  
Tim frowned sadly. “Because sometimes love just isn’t enough. Buffy. Corrine wanted me, but I was a priest. I wanted her, but I was a priest. And so I left the priesthood and I married her. She bore me a son. And yet, with all of that, we still didn’t last. Because, when the sun went down on every day, in my heart I was still a priest. You can’t deny your very nature, Buffy, even for someone you love.”  
  
The blonde’s face was distraught. “So what you’re saying is…”  
  
“You love him, but he’s a vampire. He loves you, but he’s a vampire. And when the sun goes down, on every day of your life, he’ll still be a vampire. He can’t deny his nature, Buffy. Not _that_ much. His soul means he can experience human feelings. It doesn’t mean he can experience humanity. That is denied to him, no matter what. And unless some miracle happens that restores his humanity, that is the way it will remain.”  
  
The blonde nodded solemnly. She had known that in her heart. It didn’t make her happy, though. “What do you suggest?”  
  
The priest smiled. “Let go of him, Buffy. If you feel the need for a companion in your life, then follow Angel’s advice. Find someone who can walk with you in the daylight.”  
  
“Letting go is so hard.”  
  
“I know it. The right thing is almost always hard. That’s a good way of knowing it’s the right thing.”  
  
“Good night, Father.”  
  
“Good night, my child,” Tim paused as Buffy left. “Go in peace. May you find someone worthy of you.”  
  
~~  
  
Father Flotsky's another favourite of mine. If you haven't seen Soap then I highly recommend it. It's hilarious. Fair warning though. It's very politically incorrect.  
  
Hope you enjoy  
  
Jasper


End file.
